Sunday, December 01, 2013

The outspoken
critic of government-sanctioned evictions and home demolitions around the nation is the latest
victim in a part of the country where odd coincidences are rife

TRF spokeswoman
Frida Tsai (蔡培慧) yesterday was hit by a car after
attending the reopening of a coffee shop in Miaoli County and remains under
close observation at hospital.

Tsai, who
spearheaded a campaign of protests in recent months against nation-wide forced evictions
and the impact of a controversial cross-strait services trade agreement, was
hit head-on by a minivan at about 6pm on Saturday as she was crossing at an intersection. She had just attended the reopening
of the Zhunan Café, the site of organizing activities by activists opposing
home demolitions in Dapu which had been closed after its windows were twice
broken by unidentified individuals.

Tsai at a protest in early October

Tsai sustained a
cranial fracture and had brain hemorrhage, and is now in the intensive care
unit at Cheng Gong Hospital in Linkou (林口),
where she has been in and out of consciousness. According to a statement on the
TRF Facebook page, Tsai underwent an emergency operation overnight and her
condition was stable.

Miaoli police
have detained the driver of the vehicle, and the TRF is calling for witnesses. Police and prosecutors in the central county have a rather deplorable
reputation when it comes to resolving crime. The authorities have yet to establish whether this was an accident or something more troubling.

Of course, all
of this can be mere coincidence. But this is Miaoli, known for the mysterious “suicides” of Mr. Chang
Sen-wen (張森文) in September, exactly two months after
his home and pharmacy were demolished, and that of four local government
officials since County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hong (劉政鴻) assumed the position in 2006. Three of the four men were
involved with environmental impact and land issues, also a coincidence,
especially amid efforts by Liu and his family to attract large investment with
science parks and other projects, from which they could make substantial benefits (the other was a driver for Liu). In some cases, the families of the victims were unable to see the autopsy reports.

It’s also probably a
complete coincidence that the Chang family, which for years resisted the
demolition plans, was often threatened by individuals who visited their pharmacy
to flash their firearms. Or that Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), one of the lead student protesters and the author of the direct
“shoe hit” against Liu on September 18, was “warned” a few months ago to be “careful”
as gangsters were watching him.

All the more reason for law-enforcement authorities to take a close look into Saturday's incident.

Let us all hope
that Tsai, the latest victim in a land of coincidences, makes a full and speedy
recovery. (Photos by the author)

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About Me

Taipei-based Senior Non-Resident Fellow at China Policy Institute @ U Nott, associate researcher at CEFC, ed.-in-chief Thinking Taiwan. M.A. War Studies Royal Military College of Canada, International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from CIHC, CX-77 (peacekeeping) Lester Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, B.A. English lit. Deputy news editor and a reporter at the Taipei Times 2006-2013. Intelligence officer for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (2003-2005). I have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, SCMP, National Interest, Lowy Interpreter, The Age, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Intelligence Weekly, Jane’s Navy International, Jane’s International Defence Review, the Ottawa Citizen, China Brief, CounterPunch, FrontLine Security, Strategic Vision, Asia Today International, The News Lens and The Diplomat. I was the 2012 recipient of the award for Outstanding Journalism from the Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation. I have appeared on BBC, CBC, CNN, VOA, RTI and Al-Jazeera. I use a Nikon D7100 camera. Follow me on Twitter @jmichaelcole1